


A Promise Kept (Even If It's Not So Good)- Revised

by afluffykiwi



Series: wally centric request things [4]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Starvation, Wally Whump, self harm in the form of him starving himself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-13
Updated: 2016-08-13
Packaged: 2018-08-08 10:56:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7754974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afluffykiwi/pseuds/afluffykiwi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His metabolism messes up a lot of aspects of his life, but that's just it. It's his own. When it threatens the lives of his friends, that's when something needs to change.<br/>How much does he actually need to eat, anyways?</p>
<p>(proper grammar & capitalization was at least attempted, some things were taken out and some were added in. which is why this is a separate post)</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Promise Kept (Even If It's Not So Good)- Revised

**Author's Note:**

> prompt from 'Everyone Loves Wally West': So... if you could write one with Wally not eating for some reason (like Artemis is a bitch about the way he eats and he gets even more self-conscious than he already was (BC HIS FATHER WAS A DICK)) and collapses and Roy or Dick (or both, gladly) storms in after hearing that Wally is hurt (Roy finds out later because he's not on the team, Robin because he can maybe have been doing a shitton with Bats recently so hasn't really done a lot with the team and then hears later) Dick is like 'what the fuck we're supposed to be a team, we're supposed to care for eachother and not be assholes and notice when shit like this happens' (you can also change this slightly to fit with Roy instead if that's what you're more into) and gives Artemis a load of shit and the team find out about Wally's dad and Wally!angst and protective!Roy & protective!Dick (and Barry bc daddy flash is way scarier than daddy bats) ensues and-! Yeah, that would be great. So either Roy/WALLY or Dick/Wally please, just as long as Wally is the bottom.

Wally felt his heart sink; guilt and self-loathing swirled in his mind, clouding his thoughts. He was barely aware of Artemis’ lecture, picking out only the important parts: the, ‘it’s all your fault’s and the ‘if you weren’t eating all the time this wouldn’t have happened’ and the ‘if we died it’d be your fault.’ Robin jumped in there, coming to his defense like the bro he was, but Wally didn’t deserve that and it made his mouth sour.

 

It was so easy to wean himself off his insane diet; self control and discipline were key to using his speed and it was nice knowing those skills came in handy elsewhere. Lying was another skill that was useful. He found himself rattling off excuses and his teammates believed him. It made this all so easy, and he was.. actually excited for when this all paid off.

 

Wally felt his stomach twist and his hands immediately curled into fists. His nails bit into his palms- the sharp pain strengthened his resolve. He knew how to make the discomfort go away- apples sat fresh and bright on the kitchen counter, those would easily take the edge off- but that was taking the easy way out. That would be breaking a promise, and even though it was just one to himself it’s success affected the people around him. He wouldn’t not break. He would not give in. The apples were left untouched as he plastered a smile on his face and stepped into the training room.

 

He broke in a way he didn’t expect, but really should have. He knew bodies couldn’t survive without food; has seen documentaries, read books on the human body, was there for the presentation in health class on eating disorders. Why did he think he could do the same with a different outcome. That was crazy. Acknowledging all that didn’t stop his body from giving out, from losing consciousness, and from letting his team deal with their mission going to hell in a split second. 

  
  


Robin was more than pissed, and he was sure that when Roy finally got his ass in gear and showed up too, he’d be pissed too. Wallace fucking West, human garbage disposal, the kid who had to consume tens of thousands of calories a day so he didn’t starve to death, had done just that. He’d starved himself, and he could be dead and the league wasn’t telling them shit. Robin just wanted to scream, but he swallowed it down and turned to the team so they could figure out why their speedster had done this.

 

Roy was in the shower when he got the call, and he almost ignored it. He was thankful he didn’t underneath all his panic and anger. Wally was hospitalized, almost dead, and he almost didn’t know about it. As it was, he was hardly dressed, a pair of sweats, a shirt, and a mask just thrown on- but that didn’t even matter. There was more to worry about than what he was wearing, like getting answers. 

 

Artemis felt more than guilty, but that didn’t stop her from snapping right back at Robin and Roy when they confronted her. It couldn’t have just been her that pushed him to this. Bickering was their thing and they’ve both said nasty things to each other, none of it has never ever led to this. So maybe instead of lecturing her they should find out how Wally actually was.

 

Wally woke up feeling like a complete idiot. An idiot who was in a ridiculous amount of pain, but an idiot none the less. He felt... better in a sense; like his body actually had the nutrients it needed to function. He was hooked up to an IV so, duh, that was why. He knew he was going to get the lecture of a lifetime, but for now he’d just revel in the fact that he wasn’t dead, and he didn’t actually break his promise.

 

Wally had shrunk in on himself as much as he could, wincing a little as his partners yelled at him. They were scared, he got that, but his head hurt and this wasn’t helping at all. Maybe they saw that in his face because they quieted.

 

“Wally, why did you do this?” Dick sounded so hurt, it made his heart clench.

 

They deserved an answer but all they got was a shrug.

 

“You could’ve died,” Dick pressed, moving closer. “And all you’re going to do is shrug? Like it’s nothing?”

 

“I don’t know what you want to hear.”

 

“The truth?” Roy scoffed. “Don’t try and sugarcoat it, just tell us why you’d hurt yourself like that.”

 

He swallowed, squirming a little. “Well, why shouldn’t I?” That’s not what he meant to say, and that’s definitely not what they were expecting to hear.

 

“Why shouldn’t- Wally, are you serious?” Roy gaped, and Dick immediately climbed onto the bed, settling down beside the speedster and pulling him into a hug. 

 

Roy followed soon after, and Wally was sure they meant to comfort him, but he didn’t deserve this comfort, and it made his heart ache.

 

“Maybe because you don’t deserve to be hurt?” Dick said a moment later, peeling off his mask so he could meet Wally’s eyes dead-on.

“But i do!” He protested, biting his lip. Roy’s arms tightened a little and he huffed out a breath. “I don’t know how you can’t see that, but I really do. I’m…  I’m awful, I’m garbage and a nuisance and I’m too loud and I eat too much, too fast, too gross, and I tried to stop. A-after that fucking mission, you know the one, Rob. But I wasn’t strong enough. I don’t…  I don’t want to try again but I know I should-”

 

“No, no you really shouldn’t.” Roy swallowed, kissing the top of his head and rubbing his arm.

 

“Wally, that mission wasn’t just your fault. We all made mistakes, okay? No one died, no one got lasting injuries because of it.” Dick sucked in a breath. “You’re not the worst, okay? You’re one of the funniest, sweetest guys I know! What you  _ deserve  _ is happiness and comfort and love, alright? I know we haven’t been a thing for very long but I love you, U always have and I always will.”

 

Dick offered him a weak smile and that just broke him; tears filled his green eyes and spilled down his cheeks. He hiccupped, trying to wipe them away, but they just kept coming. Dick took his hands to ground him before wiping them away himself. Roy mumbled out another ‘i love you’ and it startled a trembling laugh out of him. He bit back a smile, dipping his head.

 

“I’m… I mean, I love you guys too, of course, I just… didn’t expect…?”

 

“Well now you can.” Dick chirped.

 

“You know who else loves you?” Roy asked, glancing at the door.

 

“Who?”

 

“Your insanely worried uncle.” Barry piped up, stepping all the way into the room before he zipped over to join in on the group hug. “And your insanely worried aunt.”

 

Wally laughed, nuzzling Barry’s shoulder. “Ah, right. Um, are you going to…?”

 

“I think you’ve had enough lectures for one day. Besides, i think Iris’ll lecture you enough for the both of us.”

 

“Oh.” Wally grimaced, his nose wrinkling.

 

“It’s because she loves you, like I said before. Your team loves you too, and Jay, and Joan, and Hal, and-”

 

“I get it, I get it!” Wally whined, his nose wrinkling even more.

 

“And you get that you can always come to us when you need a reminder, right?” Barry said, sobering up.

“At any time, okay?” Dick added, and Roy grunted his affirmation.

 

“Yeah, I get it.” Wally grinned. “Thank you.”

 

“Of course, we love you after all~”

  
“Oh my gosh-”

**Author's Note:**

> and after all this wally gets help & support from friends, family, and probs dinah idk but it isn't all magically fixed but he gets there eventually!! 
> 
> if you catch any typos or mistakes please let me know!


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